CW: Sexual assault

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Hi, I’m Ayesha. I wanted to prompt a conversation around LGBTQI+ friendly medical care. It’s common in the LGBTQI+ community to experience discrimination during medical visits, and this can prevent LGBTQI+ people and their families from being able to access the care/check-ups they need.

Discrimination for LGBTQI+ people can include the health care provider (HCP) refusing to see the LGBTQI+ person due to their orientation/identity, the HCP intentionally misgendering the LGBTQI+ patient, the HCP sexually abusing the LGBTQI+ person, and more.

There can be unfortunate consequences of these instances of discrimination, the most obvious of which is that LGBTQI+ patients are deterred from seeking medical care in the first place. From the Center For American Progress:

“…8 percent of all LGBTQ people—and 14 percent of those who had experienced discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity in the past year—avoided or postponed needed medical care because of disrespect or discrimination from health care staff. Among transgender people, 22 percent reported such avoidance. With regard to preventative screenings, 7 percent of LGBTQ respondents reported avoiding or postponing care in the year prior to the survey, while 17 percent of LGBTQ respondents who had experienced discrimination that year and 19 percent of transgender people reporting avoidance during that period.”

Does anyone in the LGBTQI+ community have anything to share (experiences/comments/concerns/frustrations/rants) regarding discrimination in health care settings?